Guard Towers

Elder Ronald A. Rasband's most recent General Conference talk reminded me that the best fortresses don't just have impenetrable walls; they also had guard towers where guards were stationed to look out for impending attacks. These sorts of defenses are especially important spiritually because Satan rarely attacks us head-on. That is, he rarely assaults the walls. Instead, he tries to sneak in and slip passed our defenses when we're not paying attention. To fight this, our best counter-strategy is to keep paying attention. We need to be mindful of the first signs of attack and raise the alarm as quickly as possible. It can help to look for patterns in when and how Satan usually attacks us and to be extra vigilant against those methods at those times. Our enemy knows that he can't usually beat us in a straightforward fight, so his only winning move is to catch us when we're not on guard, and our only defense against that tactic is to stay on guard. Strong walls are good, but we also need tall towers, and we need to make sure we keep sharp eyes stationed on them. We can't afford to be caught off guard.